Handbooks and Training Manuals

135 items available

Permanent URI for this community

This collection displays handbooks, sourcebooks, and training manuals. It includes formal books displayed in other series collections, as well as many stand alone publications both formal and informal, including eLearning products.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 10 of 16
  • Publication
    Government Analytics in Europe: Making Public Data Count
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-29) Hasnain, Zahid; Khurshid, Ayesha; Lundy, Timothy; Rogger, Daniel
    This report is part of a collection examining how analytics using government microdata is revolutionizing public administration throughout the world. Its focus is on government analytics in the European Union. The collection is based on "The Government Analytics Handbook", a comprehensive guide to using data to understand and improve government. The reports in this collection aim to help public servants apply lessons from the Handbook to their own administrations by describing the unique opportunities and challenges for government analytics that arise in different regions. No two regions, countries, administrations, or organizations are alike—that is why using microdata to measure, understand, and improve government is so important!
  • Publication
    Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: A Practical Guide for Bank Supervisors
    (Washington, DC : World Bank, 2022) Chatain, Pierre-Laurent; Van der Does de Willebois, Emile; Bökkerink, Maud
    The COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis was a reminder, if any were needed, that criminal creativity thrives in times of chaos, exploiting people’s fears. Unsafe face masks, counterfeit drugs, and suspect medical equipment flooded the market, touted as miracle cures against the coronavirus by unscrupulous actors wanting to turn a quick profit. Companies with no record in health won big government contracts and, as people’s situation deteriorated, organized crime stepped in to lend a “helping hand” to those suffering financial distress. Where most people saw a global public health and economic crisis, criminals saw an opportunity. What this criminal behavior, indeed almost all financial economic crime, has in common is that the funds involved move through the formal financial system. The service providers that execute those transactions are in a good position to gather firsthand intelligence on what is happening. For this reason, banks and other financial institutions have anti-money-laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations to find out who is paying whom and why and, if necessary, to alert the authorities. Financial institutions are the first line of defense against this criminal behavior; they are the gatekeepers to the international financial system.
  • Publication
    Handbook of Deep Trade Agreements
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020-07-08) Mattoo, Aaditya; Rocha, Nadia; Ruta, Michele; Mattoo, Aaditya; Mattoo, Aaditya; Rocha, Nadia; Ruta, Michele
    Deep trade agreements (DTAs) cover not just trade but additional policy areas, such as the international flows of investment and labor, and the protection of intellectual property rights and the environment. Their goal is integration beyond trade, or deep integration. DTA rules influence how countries transact, invest, work, and, ultimately, develop. The rules and commitments in DTAs should be informed by evidence and shaped by development priorities rather than international power or domestic politics. An impediment to this goal is that data and analysis on trade agreements have not captured the new dimensions of integration. Little effort has been made to identify the content and consequences of DTAs. This Handbook takes a step towards filling this gap in our understanding of international economic law and policy. It presents detailed data and analysis on the content of the policy areas most frequently covered in DTAs, focusing on the stated objectives, substantive commitments, and other aspects such as transparency, procedures, and enforcement. Each chapter, authored by lead experts in their respective fields, explains in detail the methodology used to collect the information and provides a first look at the evidence by policy area.
  • Publication
    World Bank Group Publications Editorial Style Guide 2020
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03-04) World Bank Group
    The World Bank Group Publications Editorial Style Guide is an essential reference for manuscript editors (substantive and mechanical editors), proofreaders, and production editors. It is a supplement to other editorial references, in particular, The Chicago Manual of Style (annual subscription available online), 17th edition, and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition. It focuses on issues specific to the World Bank/International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or for which Chicago provides multiple options. The professional recommendations made in the guide are designed to meet the following objectives: • To ensure that every publication achieves a standard of professionalism appropriate for the World Bank and on par with the publications of similar organizations, • To ensure stylistic consistency, primarily within individual publications and secondarily across all World Bank publications, • To increase efficiency by eliminating the need to repeatedly address the same stylistic details for every publication.
  • Publication
    Public Investment Management Reference Guide
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020-02-26) Kim, Jay-Hyung; Fallov, Jonas Arp; Groom, Simon
    The Public Investment Management (PIM) Reference Guide aims to convey country experiences and good international practices as a basis for decisions on how to address country-specific PIM reform agendas. The country references are drawn largely from previous diagnostics and technical assistance reports of the World Bank. The application of country diagnostics and assessments has revealed a need to address the following issues when undertaking a country reform in PIM: • Clarification of the definition and scope of public investment and public investment management • Establishment of a sound legal, regulatory and institutional setting for PIM, making sure it is linked to the budget process • Allocation of roles and responsibilities for key players in PIM across government • Strengthening project pre-appraisal, appraisal, and selection/prioritization procedural guidance, and deepening project appraisal methodologies • Integration of strategic planning, project appraisal/selection, and capital budgeting • Management of multiyear capital budget allocations and commitments • Ensuring effective implementation, procurement, and monitoring of projects • Strengthening of asset management and ex post evaluation • Integration of PIM and public-private partnership (PPP) in a unified framework • Rationalization and prioritization of the existing PIM project portfolio • Development of a PIM database and IT in the form of a PIMIS (PIM Information System). The PIM Reference Guide does not seek to provide definitive answers or standard guidance for the common PIM issues facing countries. Nor does it seek to provide a detailed template for replication across countries: this would be impossible given the diversity of country situations. Instead, each chapter of the guide begins with an overview of a specific reform issue, lists approaches and experiences from various countries, and summarizes the references and good practices to be considered in designing country-specific reform actions.
  • Publication
    Better Cities, Better World: A Handbook on Local Governments Self-Assessments
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019-07-30) Farvacque-Vitkovic, Catherine; Kopanyi, Mihaly
    The planet is becoming increasingly urban. In many ways, the urbanization wave and the unprecedented urban growth of the past 20 years have created a sense of urgency and an impetus for change. Some 54 percent of the world population—3.9 billion people—lives in urban areas today; thus, it has become clear that “business as usual” is no longer possible. This new configuration places great expectations on local governments. While central governments are subject to instability and political changes, local governments are seen as more inclined to stay the course. Because they are closer to the people, the voice of the people is more clearly heard for a truly democratic debate over the choice of neighborhood investments and city-wide policies and programs, as well as the decision process on the use of public funds and taxpayers’ money. In a context of skewed financial resources and complex urban challenges—which range from the provision of basic traditional municipal services to the “newer” agenda of social inclusion, economic development, city branding, emergency response, smart technologies, and green investment—more cities are searching for more effective and innovative ways to deal with new and old problems. Better Cities, Better World: A Handbook on Local Governments Self-Assessments is at the heart of this debate. It recognizes the complex past, current, and future challenges that cities face and outlines a bottom-line, no-nonsense framework for data-based policy dialogue and action; a common language that, for the first time, helps connect the dots between public investments programming (Urban Audit/Self-Assessment) and financing (Municipal Finances Self-Assessment). It helps address two key questions, too often bypassed when it comes to municipal infrastructure and services financing: Are we doing the right things? Are we doing things right? Better Cities, Better World: A Handbook on Local Governments Self-Assessments offers a bit of everything for everyone. • Central governments will be attracted by the purposefulness and clarity of these tools, their impact on local government capacity and performance building, and how they improve the implementation of transformative actions for policy change. • City leaders and policy makers will find the sections on objectives and content instructive and informative, with each issue placed in its context, and strong connections between data and municipal action. • Municipal staff in charge of day-to-day management will find that the sections on tasks and the detailed step-by-step walk through the process give them the pragmatic knowhow that they need. • Cities’ partners—such as bilateral and multilateral agencies, banks and funds, utility companies, civil society, and private operators—will find the foundations for more effective collaborative partnerships.
  • Publication
    Governing Infrastructure Regulators in Fragile Environments: Principles and Implementation Manual
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019-07-10) World Bank
    Countries exiting conflict and fragility face many urgent priorities and almost invariably suffer from substantial infrastructure deficits. There is typically very little infrastructure investment during periods of fragility and conflict, and existing installations are often damaged or destroyed. The purpose of this manual is to contribute to improvements in the quality of infrastructure regulation. It does so by identifying key principles for the governance of infrastructure regulators and by suggesting how these principles can be introduced successfully and maintained over time. The introduction of cross-cutting governance principles for regulators is based on the assumption that a uniform set of governance principles can be less costly and complex for governments to implement and enforce and will provide potential investors with a more consistent and predictable regulatory environment to navigate. The manual also discusses the process of implementing regulatory governance reforms in fragile contexts. Improvements in governance frameworks for infrastructure regulators will support better and accountable regulatory decision-making, as well as increased investment and overall economic development. Case studies from relevant country experience complement and provide context to the discussion on principles.
  • Publication
    Competency-Based Accounting Education, Training, and Certification: An Implementation Guide
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019-05-14) Borgonovo, Alfred; Friedrich, Brian; Wells, Michael
    This guide is designed to assist all those who are responsible for providing or overseeing formal education or practical experience that forms part of the initial professional development of aspiring professional accountants, or the continuing professional development of professional accountants. It is particularly relevant to professional accountancy organizations. It is also intended for policy makers and regulators who determine which organizations are licensed to certify professional accountants and related specializations, for example, audit professionals. The purpose of the guide is to • increase understanding of the gap between the current skills of many accountants in some regions and the skills that are relevant in increasingly digitized and globalized economies; • convey the essential features of Competency-Based Accounting Education, Training, and Certification (CBAETC); • provide a common reference framework for organizations pursuing CBAETC and the consultants working with them; • assist countries in developing in-country plans and implementing in-country processes that produce accountants with higher-order skills relevant to their economy’s rapidly evolving needs; and • improve financial reporting, auditing, and regulation. This guide complements and builds on International Education Standards (IES™) of the International Accounting Education Standards Board™ (IAESB™).
  • Publication
    License to Drill: A Manual on Integrity Due Diligence for Licensing in Extractive Sectors
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018-06-22) Votava, Cari L.; Hauch, Jeanne M.; Clementucci, Francesco
    Natural resources have the transformational potential to support economic and political stability as well as contribute to national prosperity and economic development. However, in countries dependent upon natural resource sectors, poor management of these sectors often contributes to corruption, illicit financial flows (IFFs) and thus, poverty. Adequate transparency and accountability in regulatory management of these sectors is a challenge for resource rich countries. Poor licensing decisions in natural resource management can open a pandora’s box of corruption risks. This manual provides methods and options based on good practices to improve transparency, accountability, and integrity in the regulatory licensing process and integrity due diligence. The manual borrows models from the Basel Core Principle ‘fit and proper’ concept, and provides options for conducting effective (a) beneficial ownership; (b) criminal/legal; and (c) conflicts of interest checks, with a goal of integrating these into the regulatory licensing process. The manual also identifies common legal framework defects that can facilitate corruption risks, and offers options based on principles of regulatory integrity to reduce these risks. The good practices identified can help countries allocate limited financial resources in conducting thorough background checks in a cost-effective manner, as well as meet EITI’s requirements for public disclosure of beneficial owners and politically exposed persons. These strategies for reducing opportunities for corruption in extractive sectors can help reduce IFFs that can sap resources from the economy and inhibit a country’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Publication
    Combatting Cybercrime: Tools and Capacity Building for Emerging Economies
    (Washington, DC: World Bank and United Nations, 2017-08) World Bank; United Nations
    Advances in technologies over the last 20 years have affected virtually every aspect of the waywe live and conduct our daily lives. While these technologies have been a source of good and enabled social and economic progress around the world, hardly a day goes by without news of yet another cyberattack, or the use of technology in the commission of crime. Here, at the World Bank, we know that in order for technologies, including the internet, to continue to be used as a force for economic growth and development, measures must be taken to ensure the security of the internet and the data and communications that flow over it. This Toolkit, Combating Cybercrime: Tools and Capacity Building for Emerging Economies, aims at building capacity to combat cybercrime among policy-makers, legislators, public prosecutors and investigators, as well as among individuals and in civil society at large in developing countries by providing a synthesis of good practices in the policy, legal and criminal-justice aspects of the enabling environment necessary to combat cybercrime.